The Northrop B-2 Spirit
Each aircraft has a crew of two, a pilot in the left seat and mission commander in the right, and has provisions for a third crew member if needed. For comparison, the B-1B has a crew of four and the B-52 has a crew of five. The B-2 is highly automated, and one crew member can sleep in a camp bed, use a toilet, or prepare a hot meal while the other monitors the aircraft, unlike most two-seat aircraft. Extensive sleep cycle and fatigue research was conducted to improve crew performance on long sorties. Advanced training is conducted at the USAF Weapons School.
The Air Force plans to operate the B-2s until 2032, when the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is to replace them.
Armament
2 internal bays for ordnance and payload with an official limit of 40,000 lb ; maximum estimated limit is 50,000 lb. Ordnance options carried include:
80 - 500 lb class bombs (Mk-82, GBU-38) mounted on Bomb Rack Assembly (BRA)
36 - 750 lb CBU class bombs on BRA
16 - 2,000 lb class bombs (Mk-84, GBU-31) mounted on Rotary Launcher Assembly (RLA)
16 - B61 or B83 nuclear bombs on RLA (strategic mission)
Standoff weapon: AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) and AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface
Standoff Missile (JASSM)
2 - GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) with a total of 60,000 lb
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